Petunia And Chicken: 10 Things To Know About The Show Before You Go (2014 FRIGID NEW YORK FESTIVAL)

A two person turn of the century epic prairie love story based on the works of Willa Cather.

Show Times:

Thus 2/20 @ 7:05

Mon 2/24 @ 8:40

Mon 3/3 @ 10:15

Thurs 3/6 @ 8:40

Sat 3/8 @ 3:40

Answers by Carrie Brown
(Actor and Creator)

1. Your tag line is out there on postcards and press releases so we know the PR version of what this play is about. But when you talk to your family and friends, how do you explain the show to them?

CB: I tell them that Karim and I play all the characters. I also say it’s funny and strange and sad and really good, so they should just come and see it!

2. Here’s a scenario: After the show some audience members go have a drink. What’s the part of the show you hope they’re discussing?

CB: The end, but not too loudly.

3. What drives your show – character, theme or plot?

CB: Character.

4. In rehearsals, read-thrus, or prior incarnations, what’s the one thing someone said about the show so far that made you (or the team) the most proud?

CB: Someone said it was a master class in DIY theatre. I though that was cool.

5. Let’s fantasize for a moment. Let’s take the “off-off” off. Imagine this show is on Broadway. Would that change the production itself?

CB: We’d have real light cues and maybe live music, but the simplicity of the show is sort of what makes it so good.

6. Taking that one step further – after paying everyone what they’re worth of course, what is the most lavish, luxurious, pointless thing you would spend money on if there was no constraints?

CB: Bowler hats and scarves for everyone in the audience!

7. Is there a scene, a moment, a gesture … anything at all in the show that you anticipate may get a completely different reaction depending on the audience that night?

CB: I play a dog. Sometimes we can’t continue for a solid minute while the crowd calms down. Other times it’s just polite laughter.

8. What’s your favorite line from the show?

CB:“There are only two or three human stories, and they go on repeating themselves as fiercely as if they had never happened before; like the larks in this country, that have been singing the same five notes over for thousands of years.” Willa Cather wrote this one.

9. Is the world of this play sustainable outside a theatre? In other words … do you think people live the way the characters do? Would you want a world where they do?

CB: It’s a very human and relatable story, so yes.

10. You scan the audience and you see a face that stops you dead in your tracks – who is it? And why are you shocked?

Congratulations on your two wins! And thanks Petunia and Chickenfor participating in The Happiest Medium’s FRIGID New York Festival 2014 Q&A. And for playing our game! You’re officially PAPER in any and all challenges. You may win, you may lose – who knows! This is how it works in the crazy world of the Rock, Paper, Scissors Tournament of DEAAAAATH!

Horse Trade Theater Group will present the 8th Annual FRIGID New York Festival at The Kraine Theater (85 East 4th Street between 2nd Avenue and Bowery) and UNDER St. Marks (94 St. Marks Place between 1st Avenue and Avenue A) February 19-March 9. Tickets are available for purchase in advance at www.FRIGIDnewyork.info or by calling 212-868-4444.